


Four people; two people

by Danse_danse_danse (aukibs)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Reverse Crush AU, miraculous swap au, mlsecretsanta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-14 17:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13013052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aukibs/pseuds/Danse_danse_danse
Summary: Secret Santa gift for @iamcatchild on tumblr!





	Four people; two people

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Secret Santa gift for @iamcatchild on tumblr! I hope that they enjoy it!

Adrien is annoying.

Adrien is annoying, because of the carefree way he dissolves into laughter, the winks he is so liberal with sharing, the constant puns and dumb jokes. He laughs loudly, too loudly, messing up his already disastrous hair with one hand and curling his fingers around the hem of his jacket with the other.

He is annoying and obnoxious but she knows he can also be saccharinely sweet. She can see it in the way he holds the door open for everyone (yes, _everyone_ ), how he kisses her hand in greeting, picks her up off the floor with a smooth "Princess" after she manages to trip over her own feet yet again. When she scratches her arm on the corner of a desk, he’s there, turning around, bright pink band-aid already in his hand as he quirks an eyebrow. When she runs into class, moments after the bell has rang, and drops her books on the floor after Chloé trips her, everyone bursts into laughter, but he’s there, helping her pick up her things and brushing his hand over hers in an attempt to soothe away her burning blush. When she misses a step on the stairs after school and her shin won’t stop bleeding, he’s there, slinging her arm around his shoulder and helping her to the nurse’s office.

He isn't afraid to stick it to Chloé, either. The ponytailed blonde would approach, accusing him again of being a ragamuffin failure (they were childhood friends, once upon a time, Adrien explains with a smile full of nostalgia and sadness.) He quickly outwits the mayor's daughter, sidestepping her insults and backhanding her attempts at bullying. He sees her bullying Mylène once, and descends upon the spoiled girl with such outright, indignant fury that Marinette can't help but feel something jolt in her heart.

But she smothers it, because Adrien Agreste is not perfect or sweet or a "good boy" by any definition. He can be sweet, sure, but his overconfidence and outright interest in her don't make her like him any more than she does.

"Arrogant," she tells Alya when she fist meets her, "Too forward. He flirts with everyone, anyways. He’s a good friend to me, but nothing more.“

Adrien Agreste is not a good boy, she remind herself. Adrien Agreste went off script during a scripted interview to quit modelling and failed so badly in all his private lessons that his father gave up and passed on guardianship to his grandparents. Adrien Agreste does not soften his blows, he lets his verbal barbs sting Chloé as they are.

Adrien Agreste wears geeky, neon-coloured t-shirts under well-worn leather jackets that don't even reach past his waist. Adrien Agreste wears black washed jeans with tears in them, he wears combat boots that don't match at all with the rest of his outfit. Adrien Agreste wears too many silver rings, he pierces his ears and wears cat headbands and eyeliner just to mess with the world and its gender roles.

Adrien Agreste is the leader of a little gang of jocks. Adrien Agreste beats up bullies. Adrien Agreste is nothing but trouble.

Adrien Agreste plays video games. Adrien Agreste is good at almost everything. Adrien Agreste makes his own clothes, from his usual eyesore graphic t-shirts to the most gorgeous silvery scarf she has ever seen. Adrien Agreste slides into the seat next to her, charming grin already on his face and honeyed words on the tip of his tongue.

…but Marinette doesn’t think about it twice.

But despite her unsaid rejection, Adrien doesn't give up. He simply tosses his golden hair after she rebuffs his flirting, chuckles lightly and looks at her, his green eyes sparkling in the light.

* * *

 The first time she meets him, it is her first time as Kitty Noir, and he comes spiralling down from the sky and hits her. They wind up tangled up in his yoyo string, hanging from her extended baton.

“Hey!” she says as they swing back and forth. She's looking directly into what have to be the most beautiful eyes in the world - green like freshly cut grass in the park, glimmering in the daylight on a wet spring day. The person blinks.

“I-“

“What was that about? Do you normally go around hitting people?”

The person unravels them, and they drop to the floor. She rubs her head slowly and glares at her attacker.

Neat blond hair, fluffy and soft-looking. He's dressed in a black and red bodysuit not unlike her own, black spots on his shoulders and black elbow-long gloves, black knee-high boots. Red ribbons weave through his hair and stream down behind him, fluttering in the wind. She resists the urge to reach out and touch him - he _did_ hit her, after all!

“I—“ He starts, but they hear a loud roar coming from nearby. She glares at him, then uses her baton to boost herself onto the rooftops so she can battle the stone monster.

* * *

 They defeat the akuma. Alya asks for her name, and she says:

”I’m, uh," her mind farts for a moment, "M-made for bad luck!"

“A Black Cat,” Ladybug-boy says, a corner of his mouth twitching like he’s about to say something, but he doesn’t continue.

“Y-you can call me Kitty Noir!” she says, giving the camera a genuine smile, “I’ll be off now!”

She boosts herself up as she hears Alya ask for Ladybug-boy’s name.

* * *

 She meets him again when the Stoneheart statues appear.

“This is all your fault!” she screams at him, and his eyes fill with hurt as he casts his gaze downwards, “You didn’t capture the akuma!”

“I-I’m sorry,” he says, and suddenly, he’s throwing his yoyo and he’s off.

She blinks after him, and suddenly regret shoots through her, an ugly feeling crawling through her veins. The next time she sees him, he’s on the Eiffel Tower, denouncing Hawkmoth, and claiming Paris under their protection. The breeze pushes her hair back, and instantly, she feels her heart drop to the ground. They work together to save Ivan and Mylène. Paris loves them.

They meet again, later that afternoon, on a rooftop. The wind tussles around his hair and she watches him watching her from a few metres away, and she just wants to get her hands in that soft hair of his.

“Look, I think we got off the wrong start. I’m sorry for falling on you,” he says, “It’s my first time doing this. I’m sorry about the akuma, too—“

“No, _I’m_ sorry,” she cuts him off, “I shouldn’t have gotten so mad. It’s my first time, too, and I was worried that we’d messed everything up and the world was going to end. I shouldn’t have said all that stuff… I’m sorry for yelling at you. I don’t know you, but I’m sure you’re a good person, especially after what you did there… with the Eiffel Tower…”

His expression is soft and forgiving as he accepts her apology.

A raindrop hits her on the nose, and she blinks in surprise. He laughs lightly, and pulls out the unused ‘lucky charm’ - an umbrella, bright red with black polka dots. He offers it to her, green eyes sparkling as he looks at her and she feels herself start to burn up, a giddy feeling building up in her throat.

“Thank you,” she says, and his earrings start to beep loudly.

“Looks like I’ve got to go,” he says, and he looks off to the side nervously, “I’ll, uh, _catch_ you later, then.”

“I - yes, of course, tomorrow, I’ll see you, I mean, see tomorrow you, I mean, I mean!” But he’s already gone, just a red figure swinging off into the night. She stumbles home, and collapses onto her bed as the transformation releases. She buries her face into her pillow and groans as Plagg whines for cheese above her.

“C’mon, blue-nette, get me some cheese! I just held your transformation for a few hours! My aching bones!”

A muffled groan rises out of her pillow.

“C’mon, your partner wasn’t _that_ bad, I’ve seen wor- wait a second… You _like_ him!”

“What?” she asks, sitting up straight, “No, what, I, no, like him, me? _Me_? Like, that, Ladybug-boy?”

“I don’t think I even need an answer,” Plagg says, rolling his luminous green eyes, “Can I have cheese now?”

She doesn’t even know what to call him until the next day, when Alya bowls her over, ranting about some electric boy.

“The who what where when what?” she says, gripping her friend by the shoulder, “Can you say that again? Slower, this time?”

“The superheroes yesterday, didn’t you see?” Alya said, her eyes ablaze with excitement.

“Yeah, I saw them,” she says, “What about them?”

“The girl, she told me her name was Kitty Noir, and apparently,” Alya made jazz hands and grinned widely, “The boy’s name is Elytra! At least, that’s what he told the Mayor!”

 _Elytra_.

She doesn’t have to force a smile as a name slots next to a face in her mind, and suddenly everything fits just right.

* * *

Nathanael has a crush on her.

Marinette is still trying to digest this when he breaks into her house.

“Would-would you like to go on a date with me?” Even as an akuma, her classmate is shy and kind. He’s sweet, and Marinette almost feels bad for not liking him. Maybe, if it weren’t for Elytra… No, a world without Elytra? That would be terrible!

She says yes, and feels guilty as his eyes sparkle brightly as he rambles on, promising her that she won’t regret it.

 _He is an akuma_ , she reminds herself, _You are Kitty Noir. You have a job to do._

She calls up Elytra and tells him he’s on his own.

“Are you busy?” he asks after she sends him a picture of her civilian self.

“Why does it matter?” she replies, smirking down at her baton, “Are you going to miss me, bug?”

He scoffs. “Okay, but what is it really? Family emergency? Some arrangements you can’t get out of?”

“It’s a secret,” she says, then sighs loudly as his expression becomes pinched, “But, I guess, if you really must know, I’ve got something going on right now. But I’m sure you’re more than capable of managing without me, Bugs?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll _catch_ you later,” she replies, and delights herself in his sputtering before snapping her baton shut and de-transforming. Usually it’s him with the puns.

Moments later, she’s in her most comfortable fancy clothes (a silver-purple ombre dress that Adrien pointed out to her when they had last hung out) when she catches Sabrina outside.

“I’m sorry, Sabrina,” Marinette says, “But Nathanael… no, his akuma self asked me out on a date, and, well… I don’t want to make him mad. Akumas are unpredictable.”

Sabrina nods in understanding, shoving the homework she had just been offering her back into her bag. “Okay. How about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow should be fine,” she says, “I’ll meet you at the library, okay?”

“Sure,” Sabrina says, and waves at her before walking away, “See you!”

Moments later, a red and black blur lands in front of her. Elytra.

He cocks his head, “Glad to see she wasn’t bugging you. Get it, bugging?” he shoots her a grin. “And… I haven’t even introduced myself. I am… Elytra.” He swoops into a kneel and takes her hand and places a kiss on it, then glances up and takes in her profile.

Instantly, her cheeks heat up, and she pulls her hand away quickly. Seriously, why was he acting like this around her? He had never flirted so wholeheartedly with Kitty Noir! Maybe he had a crush on her civilian self?

“Uh, yeah, I know, uh, you’re the one always saving Paris. I’m Marinette. And, uh,” she pauses as he stands up. She was supposed to surprised, right? Everyone loved Elytra, so… “What are you doing here?”

He turns away from her and flexes, tossing his hair, “I’m your knight for tonight’s ball, Princess. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be there to take care of you. That akuma won’t touch a hair on your pretty little head.”

“Oh, that’s very reassuring!” she says, clasping her hands together, “I was a bit worried, what with him being an akuma and whatnot…"

Elytra places a hand on the doorway, “But I’ll need a helping paw,” he says, his gaze sliding over to her, “You up for helping a superhero, pretty girl?”

“But where’s Kitty Noir?” she says, twisting her body around so she could giggle without him seeing, “Aren’t you two a… duo?”

“Unfortunately, she’s a bit busy tonight, so you’ll be my Kitty Noir.” His voice slid over her superhero name silkily, and she ducked her head down, a blush creeping up her neck. She had never heard him say it like that before.

Gathering her nerve, she turns back around to face him, “Ooh, we’re going to save Paris?” she grins up at him, “Wow! That’s so awesome! What do I have to do?”

“You just get the pen away from him, Princess,” he says, “I’ll take care of the rest.”

* * *

The night is actually rather beautiful.

Music is playing, the night is a gorgeous shade of purple, and the tiny model Eiffel Tower is there under the fake moon.

Marinette’s a little upset that she’ll have to ruin it. Had Nathanael, in his right mind, actually taken her out on a date like this, she’d have swooned right off the deck of the boat.

However, had Nathanael been in his right mind, he wouldn’t have be able to create this beautiful scene anyways, so…

A couple of honeyed words later, she has the pen in her hands. She’s about to make off with it when a string wraps itself around the akuma.

She may have a crush on Elytra, but boy if he wasn’t the most impulsive person she had ever met.

And she had almost done it!

Nathanael glares at her, compares her to Chloe, gets the pen back (she’s still struggling to figure out how) and then traps her and Elytra in a box, puts a hole in the ship and disappears.

 _Crap_ , she thinks as Elytra pushes at the box restlessly. It doesn’t budge.

If Marinette had her baton, she’d just extend it up and move the box that way. But Elytra only has a yoyo.

The boat is sinking fast, and Marinette is thinking just as fast.

“Maybe use your yoyo?” she suggested, tapping gently on the surface of the cube, “It’s glass, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to risk hurting you, Princess,” Elytra says, now kicking at the edge of the box, “Or ruining your pretty dress.”

She rolls her eyes. As if her dress was at the top of her mind right now. “Lucky Charm?”

“No, there has to be another way out of this.”

Marinette glances down at her purse. If worse came to worse, she could call on Plagg so she could use her baton, but she’d prefer avoid it.

“Then… let’s both push against this side. Hopefully it’ll fall over.”

It takes them a while, but eventually the box falls over, just as the water starts to fill the deck. Elytra grabs her by the waist, and throws his yoyo out. The water had almost reached their feet by the time they escape.

They land on the street. “Want a ride back home, Princess?”

“The akuma,” she reminds him, “You have to go deal with him, right? And you said Kitty Noir isn’t here today.”

“Oh… right,” the top of his mask scrunches up, like it’s something unpleasant to remember, “It wouldn’t sit right to just leave you here. What if he comes back?”

“Then he won’t find me here,” Marinette replies, “I’ll just go to my friend’s house or something and wait it out.”

“Then stay safe, Princess,” Elytra grabs her hand and plants a feathery-light kiss on it before letting go and yoyo-ing off.

Plagg is making odd noises in her purse.

“Shut up,” she says, “I don’t know what he’s up to, okay?”

Her purse only starts to make even odder noises.

* * *

 It is visitation day.

Of course, that's not what they call it. His grandparents call it "spending legally mandated time with your only living biological parent" and he calls it "hell day".

Gabriel Agreste calls it "spending quality time with the son" though he should really call it "exchanging two words with the embarrassment to my family name before leaving Nathalie to entertain him".

Nathalie is not as heartless as her name suggests. Rather than spending "visitation day" with his father, he spends it with Nathalie, who was the closest thing to a parental figure he had between when his mother disappeared and his father disowned him.

Adrien catches her up on his life; school, his grades, his friends, his hobbies. He tells her about Marinette, whose mere presence lit up his entire world for the first time since his mother disappeared. Nathalie listens patiently and expressionlessly, except for the faint hint of a smile edging at the corners of her lips.

Then the time comes that Nino's competition is nearly on, and Nathalie is waving from the gate while he speeds away on his bicycle to the TV studio.

He has almost reached the studio when he sees them.

People ambling about the road like zombies, and a man dressed in a thoroughly unfashionable green and purple magician's outfit.

He turns to Adrien, and smirks, picking a card from his collection. "Gabriel Agreste's son...? This should be fun. Simon says... jump off the TV station!"

He barely has time to process this as the man then throws a card at him. Adrien's body goes on autopilot and speeds the bike forward, out of the way of the card being thrown. But there isn't much relief in that, because then the man is throwing even more cards at him, one after another, in succession.

There isn’t enough time. His reflexes aren’t good enough, he can’t dodge them all - he jumps off the bike and starts running - he feels the wind blow as one of the cards flies past his arms, he’s out of time, he’s panicking -

And then… a black blur.

* * *

When he comes to, he’s faced with Kitty Noir’s face looking down at him concernedly. “Are you alright, pretty boy?”

He shakes himself, and detaches himself from her arms and looks around. They are on a roof, well hidden behind all the chimneys around them. He looks back to Kitty, who is still watching him. He flashes her a grin, “All better now that you’re here, Ch-Kitty Noir!”

She rolls her eyes. “Great. Now, I’d like you to stay out of sight. The akuma was after you because your father apparently shut him down on a live reality TV show.”

“Why was he bothering me, like it was my fault that - wait, live reality TV show? Nino!” He scrambles for his phone, heart pounding. What if something had happened to his friend?

“Nino?” Kitty Noir asks, “Is he the boy… with the… uh, the hat? The DJ?”

“Yes, him!” he looks up at her, “Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine,” she said, and he exhales loudly, “Although he was rather concerned for you.”

“I’d better call him,” he looks down at his phone. Nino has called him 9 times already. His phone begins to ring again, and he picks it up before Kitty Noir can hear the rest of his All Star ringtone.

“ADRIEN!” Nino’s voice is loud, even though he’s not on speakerphone, “ARE YOU OKAY? AN AKUMA IS AFTER YOUR FATHER, YOU SHOULD GET SOMEWHERE SAFE!”

“I’m fine,” Adrien replied, “Unfortunately, I already ran into the akuma, but Kitty Noir saved me before one of his cards could hit me. And -“

Kitty suddenly grabs him around the waist, and mutters an apology under her breath as she scoops him into her arms and starts running.

“- now we’re running through Paris. Everything’s fine and dandy, really.”

“Adrien?!”

“Oh, yeah, the akuma’s after us,” he replies in an indifferent tone as he looks behind.

Nino sighs, and Adrien feels bad for worrying him. “Whatever, bro, just put down the phone and focus on not getting hit. Stay safe,” he says, before hanging up.

* * *

 Kitty Noir lands on the top of the TV tower, and lets go of him. He shoves his phone back into his bag.

Suddenly, his father is bursting out onto the rooftop, and Adrien wonders idly whether this would be considered a dream or a nightmare.

But then his father starts flopping about and making stupid noises, and Adrien immediately decides that if this is a dream, this is the best dream ever. Kitty stares at his father.

“Um… I…” she grabs his father’s wrists, and pulls him forward. He struggles helplessly. “Can you… restrain him?” Kitty asks.

“Seriously?” he mutters, “why don’t we just lock him in a closet or something?”

“Better idea,” Kitty says, blushing slightly, “Um. Into the building, then.” Adrien grabs his father by the shoulders and physically drags him back inside the building. They quickly find a utility closet and stuff his father inside before locking it tight. Kitty turns to him, speaking rapidly, “Great, thank you for your help, civilian, but now it is time for you to-“

“Look out!” Adrien cuts her off, slamming her to the ground as one of the akuma’s hypnotized victims (or at least, he hoped it was a hypnotized victim) throws a bowling ball at her from around the corner.

“Where did they even get a bowling ball?” Adrien wonders aloud, before Kitty yanks him away by the wrist. They speed away into an empty hallway.

“Okay. Stay here, and stay put. If you go anywhere, Adrien Agreste, I swear to god, I will-“

“That’s great, Kitty Noir, except the akuma is right behind you, so I’m considering not following instructions anymo-woah-re!” Kitty shoves him into an emergency staircase.

* * *

 By the end of it, Kitty Noir was completely frustrated with Adrien. Every time she attempted to get rid of him, another threat would appear. It was as though her bad luck was starting to affect her rather than others.

But at least he wasn’t flirting with her. Not as blatantly as he did with Marinette, at least. Some subtle compliments and grins that he’d often give to Alya or to Rose. So… did that mean he’d pick Marinette over super-awesome superhero Kitty Noir?

Marinette didn’t entertain the thought for long. After all, why would she ever think of Adrien when there was Elytra?

 _Speaking of that ladybug, where is he?_ she wondered, _I could really use his help. Getting rid of Adrien, defeating the akuma, or whatever…_

Eventually, she found an empty storage closet.

“Oh, hey, Adrien, I found you a great hiding place!” she said, shoving him inside.

“Wait, Kitty Noir, I-”

“Stay safe!”

“…I don’t like closed spaces…”

* * *

 “Tikki, transform me!”

* * *

 “Hey, Kit-Kat, I heard you replaced me with a former teen model,” Elytra said, flashing Kitty Noir a grin as he sidled up beside her, “Is that true?”

“For goodness sake, do you know how hard it was to get rid of him?” Kitty Noir frowned, “Something would always come up! Akuma! Elevator! Card!”

To any other person, this would sound completely incoherent and mad, but to him, it made sense.

“So, you didn’t enjoy his company?” he asked, and put a cheerful grin on his face, “That’s good. And here I was afraid you’d _purrfurr_ him to me.”

Kitty sent him a deadpan look. “He wasn’t bad, but really, who would I prefer while facing an akuma? My super-powered partner with super-strength, who I have been fighting akumas with for over half a year, or some civilian who I don’t even know?”

 _Oh, but you_ do _know, Kitty._ “Ah, that’s too bad. I was thinking we could be a triad.”

“We’ve moved on to rhyming from punning?” Kitty raised an… well, an eyebrow. If she had those… Of course she did! He still had eyebrows, why wouldn’t she? He brought a hand up to his face, letting his fingers trace the edge of his mask... yeah, he definitely still had eyebrows.

“May I suggest that when it is time, instead of acting unaffected, we mime?”

“Ugh,” Kitty face-palmed, “Yeah, okay. Good idea. But next time, if your idea is submitted in rhyme form, it will not be considered, no matter how good it is.”

“Let’s go, then.”

* * *

 That night, long after the akuma had been defeated, Adrien is idly scrolling through his Tumblr feed in the cold, big guest room at his father’s mansion, when he hears a knock at his window.

Warily, he glances up, only to met with the silhouette of a figure at the window. Quickly, he turns on his light while subtly waking up Tikki.

It’s Kitty Noir.

He opens the window, and swoops into a bow as he hears her feet lightly touch down. “And to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I was informed by an acquaintance that this house contained an incredible game room and now wonder what it would be like to play in such a room.”

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d be honoured to introduce you to the recreation room in this house. It’s not mine to share, of course, but considering it is the middle of the night, I doubt that anyone would be awake enough to bother complaining.”

Kitty Noir grins. “Brilliant.”

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote the first quarter and some parts of the second quarter before mlsecretsanta came out, but finished the rest in the hope that my giftee will like it!


End file.
